Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 193 Why the Dogfight? Because You're Stupid
The engineers were urgently setting up a new temporary control tower near the airport, while Milton left the airport with the army and took refuge in the relocated command post to rest.

Of course, before going to sleep, Milton opened the panel and accessed the section related to airplanes.

After capturing the port city of Champerico, Milton was able to unlock more aircraft, only lacking an airport.

Now he can finally see what new equipment he has unlocked.

First, a new option has appeared in the transport aircraft section.

An-24 tactical transport aircraft

New transport aircraft!
After using the Y-5 for so long, the panel finally upgraded Milton's transport fleet. Although the takeoff and landing conditions were more demanding, the An-24's carrying capacity was a qualitative leap compared to the Y-5, increasing from more than 2 tons to a full 5.5 tons.

Milton was intrigued, but after checking his remaining points, he decisively shifted his gaze downwards to the newly unlocked equipment.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river... Just wait, once I've completely taken over these cities, I'll definitely need to find some local tycoons and capitalists to raise some funds!"

Next up is the air superiority fighter.

Milton glanced around and was rather disappointed—the vast majority of them were old World War II aircraft like the P-51 and Spitfire fighters.

The jet fighter is completely locked.

Milton felt that it wasn't very practical for the time being, so he skipped over it and looked down at the ground attack aircraft that he was most concerned about.

SU-25 attack aircraft

coming!

This is it!

The twin-barreled 30mm autocannon has a rate of fire of 3000 rounds per minute, which is enough to penetrate the top armor of a main battle tank!

Although the SU-25 is not like the Warthog, which is like an aerial tank, its survivability is also very strong. Unless it is unlucky enough to be hit in a critical part, it can even withstand Stinger anti-aircraft missiles!
The fact that only 23 of the 6 sorties flown in the Afghan War were lost, and that a single aircraft could return to base after being hit 150 times, proves how powerful and overwhelming this attack aircraft can be when fighting enemies with weak air defenses.

With a speed of 975 km/h, it can take off and land on extremely rough unpaved runways, and it is even compatible with diesel fuel. It has a kind of Soviet-style toughness and powerful, brick-like beauty.

Moreover, it can not only use machine guns to open tank canisters, but also carry more than 4 tons of ammunition, including air-to-ground missiles—up to 4 KH-25s at a time. With good operation, two aircraft can approach and annihilate Lopez's front-line positions.

With anti-tank missiles, a single Su-25 can wipe out an entire tank company!

But... none of these are the most important.

After looking at the plane, Milton continued scrolling down to the section for redeemable weapons.

His gaze swept past all sorts of machine gun shells and anti-tank missiles, finally settling on "air-to-air missiles".

Milton could hardly contain his excitement: "R-73 air-to-air missile!"

In the 1990s, it was the world's best and most advanced air-to-air missile, arguably without equal. It was a brilliant first-of-its-kind missile that combined thrust vector control with aerodynamic control surfaces, with a maximum overload of 50G, far exceeding the American Sidewinder missile, which was considered industrial junk.

Its range can reach 30km.

Large off-axis launch capability, omnidirectional attack capability, and super compatibility...

They were also very cheap, costing only $5 million each, which is equivalent to 10 million red points. Milton had spent most of the points he had stolen from drug dealers during the war, but he still managed to save enough points to buy two planes and their equipment.

Generally speaking, this type of missile is equipped on fighter jets, and no one uses it on attack aircraft. But Milton didn't have the money, and the enemy was an old-fashioned Mustang with a top speed of over 700 km/h, so it was perfectly acceptable to make do with it.

It might be a bit too much for dealing with other fighter jets, but it's more than capable of taking down old World War II aircraft.

Even if the infrared signal of the piston engine is slightly weaker, Milton can still sweep away the enemy's air power by relying on the absolute advantages of the missile's range and the aircraft's speed.

Lopez only purchased two P-51s. Once those two planes are destroyed, the remaining Dragonflies will be unable to fight back.

Of course, Milton, in his excitement, also glanced at the cockpit of the Su-25.

Well... as expected, it has both the traditional advantages and disadvantages of the Soviet system—a dashboard that would trigger trypophobia in anyone who looks at it.

In order to better control the aircraft, Milton gritted his teeth once again and improved his piloting skills to 80.

"All done." Milton breathed a sigh of relief after his violent spending spree. He glanced at the few million points he had left and couldn't help but complain in his heart, "If the war doesn't end in three days, my finances will be completely ruined."

"Lopez would never have imagined that I am actually a paper tiger."

If the enemy knew Milton's current financial situation, even if they annihilated the enemy's air force and destroyed all their tank units, they might not necessarily surrender.

Milton shook his head, closed the panel, and lay down.

sleep!

The next day, before Milton had even gotten out of bed, Flora's voice came through the door with a loud knocking.

"Tax collector, get up! Time to work! The sun's already high in the sky!"

Flora, who always woke up later than Milton, was surprisingly enthusiastic this time. She knocked on the door before Milton had even gotten up.

Milton opened his eyes, glanced at the time, and replied, "What's the rush? What time is it?"

"Hurry, let's go! I can't wait to know what big machine you've gotten your hands on this time."

In preparation for this air battle, Milton directly redeployed all the fighter planes that were originally intended to support the ground offensive, resulting in a noticeable slowdown in the offensive against Retaluilleu.

“It’s just you and me this time.” Milton slowly stood up and said unhurriedly, “You can fly those Russian planes, right?”

"Yes, don't worry! Tsk, where did you get that Russian plane from?"

Milton didn't answer her, but instead got into the back seat of the armored vehicle and, under the protection of the armored convoy, began their journey to the airport.

On the way, the communications soldier took the opportunity to report the day's battle report to Milton.

"The counterattack on the city is progressing steadily, this is the front line... The enemy is further retreating the defensive line northward and is reacting very negatively to the loss of the airport."

"The defenses along the road to Quetzaltenango have been further reinforced."

"News has come from the city of Quetzaltenango that food supplies are running low again today, and the city has been completely sealed off."

"The election is over, and López has been successfully elected as a member of Congress with a 95% approval rating."

"Rumors that soldiers had begun robbing civilians and abducting women in the city have been confirmed to be true and are not isolated incidents."

"A small number of soldiers revolted, but the uprising was suppressed."

"Our people are trying to investigate those lobbying groups... but there's not much progress so far."

"The rebels are in a difficult situation on the front lines. A howitzer happened to hit their communication equipment. Although it was not completely destroyed, it has made our communication with them much more difficult. The communication is often interrupted. Their engineers are working hard to repair it, but the exact time of repair is unknown."

"It's a miracle that communications are only being affected now after being carpet bombed for so long..."

"They withstood two waves of enemy river crossings, but suffered extremely heavy losses. They also failed to inflict significant damage on high-value enemy targets, such as tanks."

"So far, only one BMP-1 has been destroyed with TOW missiles, and the missile system was immediately suppressed and damaged by the enemy."

"The rebels didn't say it explicitly, but our intelligence personnel analyzed it and believed that the rebel defenses would completely collapse in five days at most, and the government forces' river crossing operation would be successful."

"..."

Milton nodded: "Understood. Stay in touch with them, stay in touch with me—I need the resistance to maintain a continuous communication channel with me."

"Roger that!"

By this time, the convoy had arrived at Retaluleu Airport.

Flora couldn't wait to open the car door and crane her neck to see what kind of plane Milton had brought.

"Holy crap! Su-25s, two of them?!" Flora spotted the two most conspicuous planes on the runway at a glance. "You really do have connections in Russia, don't you?"

“However…” Flora quickly realized a problem amidst her excitement, “I remember Lopez bought Mustang fighter jets. Are we just going to charge straight in and dogfight the enemy planes? The Su-25 might not have an advantage.”

Milton led Flora forward, pointing to the busy ground crew and the weapons under the aircraft pylons: "Take another look."

Flora bent over dramatically, looked at the weapon rack, and then her eyes widened: "R73! Good heavens! You're really going to bully us! Lopez wanted to dogfight with you! The P51 doesn't even have heat decoys; if it gets targeted, it's just waiting to die!"

Why dogfight? Because you're stupid...

Milton ignored Flora, looked seriously into her eyes, and then at the other pilots, and gave the order: "Each aircraft carries two missiles, a total of four. That's more than enough to ambush two P-51s—the remaining pylons will be used to carry anti-tank missiles to prioritize destroying tanks."

"Our remaining dragonfly attack opportunities will enter the fray after the P51 is destroyed, to sweep away the remaining enemy armored forces."

"Destroy high-value targets, return for resupply, and load anti-personnel weapons, such as napalm. Cooperate with the resistance forces to completely wipe out the remaining enemy infantry."

"Block the enemy's retreat routes and destroy as many highways as possible..."

"The garrison of Malakan, move out and outflank the enemy's rear. Remember, we must not only defeat the enemy, but also annihilate them!"

"Don't be afraid of losses. The enemy's strongest anti-aircraft missile is the Stinger, which the Su-25 can withstand head-on."

"Even if we can't return, we have ejection seats."

"set off!"

With that, Milton picked up the integrated display helmet, put it on, and climbed the ladder into the cockpit of the Su-25 to begin executing the checklist. Main power on, instrument panel initialized, barometric altimeter zeroed…

The two R-195 turbojet engines roared to life, their melodious yet ferocious sound reaching Milton's ears.

"Instrument calibration...flight control function correct...setting up communication and navigation..."

Milton said to the radio: "Retaloulou Tower, this is Tax Owl 01, dual engines activated, requesting taxiing to..."

"Tower received, proceed along the taxiway..."

Milton took a deep breath and kept his tone calm: "Arrived at designated position, requesting takeoff clearance."

"Ground winds...unobstructed, takeoff is possible, departure frequency..."

Milton pushed the accelerator, and the already roaring turbojet engine emitted a sharp, explosive sound. Instantly, he felt a tremendous force pressing him firmly into the driver's seat.

After skating for about 800 meters, Milton began to pull back on the lever, and the scenery on the ground gradually receded into the distance.

Then it flew straight towards the rebel front at full speed!
Thirty seconds later, Milton caught a glimpse of Flora's plane out of the corner of his eye, which was slightly behind and to his left.

Her slightly excited voice came through: "My God, I never thought I'd get to fly a Su-25 in my life, haha, I'll make 'Anvil' and 'Poison' green with envy!"

Milton ignored her, craning his neck slightly to look at the ground—the city of Retaluleu was gradually receding into the distance, but there were still many traces of war damage nearby.

Flora continued, "Lopez is probably still celebrating his victory in Quetzaltenango, waiting for the rebel front to completely collapse—he certainly thinks he's safe now. Losing a port, but holding Quetzaltenango and taking Vevetenango would be an acceptable outcome for him."

"But he never imagined that he was about to perish."

"Alright, watch your altitude. The enemy has counter-battery radar, which can be used as anti-aircraft radar to some extent." Milton simply turned his head and glanced at Flora through the cockpit windshield. "But also watch your terrain, don't crash into mountains."

Flora gave Milton a thumbs-up: "Don't worry, I'm not a newbie..."

"..."

Soon, at high speed, the two Su-25s approached the airspace above the front line.

Milton clearly remembered his mission and began, "Prepare for the first joint operation with the resistance..."

Suddenly, at the edge of Milton's field of vision, a small flock of black "birds" flew by, as small as a few mosquitoes, but Milton still managed to see them.

wrong!

Milton was stunned; all the blood in his body rushed to his head at that moment!
This isn't a bird...this is an enemy plane!

Moreover, the fact that they flew from the front lines to the rear indicates that they had just completed a mission and were now in their weakest state.

The rebels shouldn't have failed to report such important intelligence; it's likely that there was another communication problem.

But it's okay, you can seize opportunities!

The enemy plane is now facing Milton's nose from the side, giving them a significant advantage.

"Enemy aircraft! 1 o'clock position, altitude... Prepare to engage!" Milton suddenly spoke, reporting the enemy aircraft's position to Flora, and then slightly aligned the nose of his aircraft with the direction the enemy aircraft were flying.

Visually, when the distance between the two sides is about 30km, the enemy aircraft will appear right here.

But... the enemy plane pilots were clearly not incompetent.

Even without radar, they managed to spot Milton approaching from the side.

Moreover, the pilot of the aircraft Milton was tasked with dealing with clearly did not hesitate at all, assuming that any flying object appearing in this place at this time must be an enemy force, and immediately began to make maneuvers!

Milton watched as the P51 rolled 90 degrees outward in a very short time, attempting to break free from his firing axis with maximum instantaneous overload.

Very, very professional. The person piloting this plane is probably a "Grey Wolf," an assistant Lopez brought in from the United States.

If nothing unexpected happens, the next step is that Milton will miss a golden opportunity and can only try to keep tailing the Su-25, then the P-51 will enter a horizontal scissor maneuver, using the low-speed stability of the P-51's laminar wing to deplete the Su-25's potential energy, and then seize the opportunity to reverse the offensive and defensive situation.

Given the P51's excellent dogfighting ability, this maneuver could very well get it right behind Milton.

Milton was then forced to rely on the Su-25's superior speed to withdraw from the battlefield...

The other side has extended a dogfight challenge to Milton, and a spectacular aerial dogfight is about to unfold!

But... there are no ifs.

Milton comfortably abandoned aiming at the enemy aircraft and directly pressed the missile launch button on the control stick. The moment his thumb pressed the launch button, a slight vibration came from the fuselage. The R-73 detached from its pylon, and the air-to-air missile "whooshed" out, rushing towards the P-51.

The solid rocket engine can propel the speed to over Mach 2 in half a second!

The enemy's P-51 was clearly shocked by the sudden appearance of the aircraft, but as expected of an elite force, it tried to seize this extremely short window of opportunity and attempted a roller maneuver. Its flaps vibrated violently, and it was about to reach its limit.

However, the R-73's seeker had already locked off-axis, and its thrust vectoring system was constantly correcting the attack angle, keeping a tight grip on the enemy aircraft.

Off-axis launch means that the carrier aircraft can launch missiles at an angle far from the longitudinal axis of the fuselage, so that the carrier aircraft can attack without pointing its nose at the enemy aircraft.

If you can't aim accurately, then don't aim.

Milton chuckled: "So you're good at overloading, huh? Go talk to my missiles."

The R-73 made a significant curve as it fired at the enemy aircraft, and the proximity fuse was activated when it was very close.

The warhead exploded, sending out countless fragments that covered the entire airspace where the enemy aircraft was located in a cone shape. The fragments hit the enemy aircraft without any surprise. The P-51's radial engine instantly turned into a burning honeycomb, and several of the four-bladed propellers broke off on the spot!

boom!
A fuel leak caused the piston engine to catch fire, triggering a small explosion in mid-air!

The pilot was lucky; the flying debris didn't kill him immediately. He managed to struggle out of the crashing cockpit and try to parachute to safety.

At the same time, a burst of sparks erupted not far away, and the P-51 that Flora was attacking was also hit by a missile before it could react.

The pilot wasn't so lucky. He was swept away by the broken propeller blade. One moment he was maneuvering, and the next he was completely disoriented—because of the excessive G-force, his head was thrown out of the cockpit and into the air.

call!call!
Two Su-25s flew past the two P-51 fighter jets that had been reduced to wreckage.

Flora's voice came through at the same time: "...How fucking boring, is it enough to just aim it at symbolically and press the fire button?"

“Stop talking nonsense, ‘Bottle’,” Milton whispered. “Go after those two Dragonflies up ahead, follow them from a distance, find their airport, and disable it for at least 12 hours. Can you do that?”

“No problem, I can do it,” Flora said, but there was a hint of doubt in her voice, “Aren’t you coming with me?”

Milton, who was controlling the plane to turn around, said: "I'm going to take out that pilot. I'll be there in a minute."

"Huh?!" Flora was taken aback and exclaimed in confusion, "You're going to fight the pilot? The pilot whose fighter jet was shot down and who successfully parachuted out?!"

"Yes what's the matter."

While chasing the frantically fleeing enemy aircraft, Flora couldn't help but feel a little tense and offered a slight reminder: "Uh, this seems to be a little bit of a violation of military law?"

A few days ago, the paratroopers who attempted to jump were armed and were combat personnel. It was perfectly reasonable to sweep them down from the sky with machine guns and cannons.

But pilots who parachute to safety... that's a different story.

"Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. So what if he's killed?" Milton saw the pilot's actions just now and knew that he was highly skilled. If it weren't for the information gap, the sneak attack, or the weak performance of the fighter jet, the outcome of this air battle would have been uncertain.

Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots! Either don't do it at all, or do it thoroughly!

Kill them if you want; only the defeated are brought before a military tribunal, and Milton's identity clearly leans more towards the victor.

"Okay, that's ruthless, I like it!" Flora didn't say anything more. "I'll wait for you up ahead."

Milton had already turned and saw the swaying figures floating in the sky.

Judging from their equipment and the style of their parachutes, they are definitely Americans.

The pilot even had the leisure to extend his arm and make a gesture to Milton... It was too far away to see clearly whether it was a thumb or a middle finger.

He clearly believed he was safe.

Since Milton didn't have the chance to kill him before he parachuted, the likely outcome is that he parachuted safely and, if he's lucky, returned to the Guatemalan regular army; if he's unlucky, he'll be captured by Milton's men.

The former will go unpunished, while the latter will at most involve some US agencies putting pressure on him. Milton wouldn't dare refuse to release him; at worst, he'll be convicted and extradited to the US, saving face for himself.

As long as you parachute, you're safe...

bang bang bang! ! !
The thought had barely crossed his mind when he saw the roaring Su-25 in front of him open fire on him with its machine gun!

The pilot's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively shouted, "Wait! I'm the pilot who ejected, I..."

Bang bang bang!
Milton had no idea what he was babbling about. Another short burst of fire followed, and this time the machine gun shells hit their targets—one hit the parachute, and the other blasted the pilot in two.

"This is Tax Owl 01, coordinates area... Immediately send people to search this area... Target characteristics... Once found, completely destroy the evidence, and separate every grain of his ashes far away."

"……receive!"

After giving the order to destroy the evidence, Milton chased after Flora's Tax Owl No. 2.

Flora's excited voice rang out at the same time: "'Tax collector'! We've found their airport! Holy crap, those two Dragonfly planes are totally smuggling people in! Come quick, it's time to grab some fries!!!"

(End of this chapter)